No ‘third country’ can restore democracy, says Fakhrul a day after Khaleda meets Sushma

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Monday said only the people can ‘restore’ democracy in the country, not any other ‘third country’.

The BNP leader came up with the remarks at a discussion at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU), a day after their party’s chairperson’s meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, reports UNB.

“We meet foreign leaders when they come here to tell them there’s no democracy in Bangladesh and those who are talking about democracy wearing a mask is confusing the international community,” he said.

Fakhrul further said, “We don’t beg anybody’s mercy; we also don’t tell anybody to put us in power. We also don’t believe any country will come here to restore democracy.”

Mentioning that people restored democracy in the country repeatedly through movement and sacrificing their blood, the BNP leader said, “Their party expects the country’s people again to restore their democratic rights through a struggle.”

Fakhrul called upon people to come forward to ‘restore’ democracy in the country with their united efforts.

He said people are now passing through a very bad time as the government has snatched their all basic rights, including that of voting.

Turning to the Rohingya crisis, the BNP leader said vested quarters are hatching various conspiracies over the Rohingya issue. “Rohingya is now one of the biggest problems of Bangladesh. There’s no scope to take it lightly. As we’ve fallen in danger with Rohingyas, an international plot is on to create another Palestine-like problem and a battlefield here.”

He said their party is only in favour of giving Rohingyas a temporary shelter in Bangladesh, but not permanently. “We must mount pressure on Myanmar government to take back their citizens.”

Fakhrul said their party wants to help the government overcome the crisis as it is not willing to do politics over a serious problem like the Rohingya one.

He said creating a national unity over the Rohingya problem is crucial now to demonstrate Bangladesh’s strong stance before the international community on solution to it.

The BNP leader protested the issuance of a warrant for the arrest of BNP senior vice chairman Tarique Rahman in a sedition case.